Right now, as I’m typing this, it’s mid-July. This morning, minutes after eating my breakfast, I reached for a vegan Magnum and I’m already thinking about having this salad for my dinner. Hopefully we’ll be eating in the garden (ok, it’s a yard) and hopefully I’ll be having an ice- cold glass of rose.
What I am saying is, IT IS SUMMER. Wimbledon’s just finished. I barely understood it, but I tried my best.
So, why, oh why, have I seen loads of Christmas content this week?
Reels on Instagram about Christmas, emails about Christmas fragrances, posts on LinkedIn about Christmas in July.
I’ve had conversations with small business pals about prepping wholesale orders for Christmas and getting “holiday newsletters” ready to send to customers.
This happens every year. And, this blog explains three reasons why.
Why do small business owners, magazine editors, digital agencies, and just about everyone involved with marketing create content about Christmas in July?
Christmas in July: a quick note on overwhelm
Before we get into it- this blog is NOT about making you feel like you’re already behind. I am not trying to make you panic that you’ve not done something, or you *should* be doing something.
Wherever you are right now in your business, you’re probably exactly where you need to be.
If you get to Christmas every year and you find yourself thinking- ‘how did they get on that gift guide?’. Or ‘wow, their content is great, a reel every day!’. Or, ‘ooh their new photography is gorgeous, how did they fit that in, my photographer was fully booked…’. The answer is because that small business owner started in July. (And/ or hired professionals like PR, copywriters, social media managers, and one of Father Christmas’s elves.)
This blog gives you a couple of insider secrets to save you from doing intense promotion at your busiest time- there’s no artificial panic or manufactured overwhelm here, ok?
Christmas in July: consider your customer’s monthly pay days
Aside from feeling organised way before the busy Christmas period, prepping your Christmas content really helps your customer.
- Them buying your product solves their problem
Your customer is, on average, planning to buy Christmas gifts for up to 10 people. That’s a lot of decision making and researching. They’re considering their own values (shopping small, sustainable options, vegan friendly) as well as the values and preferences of the gift recipient. So, your lovely product is ideal. The thing is, customers generally need to see something 7 times to feel ready to make a purchase. So you have to show up- in their inboxes, on Instagram, on a gift guide, on a blog- so they have time to connect what you sell with the person they’re buying a gift for. - They’re on a budget
If your customer has up to 10 people to buy gifts for, they’re expecting to spend a lot of money. On average in the UK, people will spend £602 on gifts. That’s a lot of money to find in December. So, of course, people start buying gifts early. If you can tell people about your products well, well in time for Christmas they’ll be able to budget for it. October and November are typically the last paydays before Christmas, so getting your Christmas content out well in time for that, you’re positioning yourself for sales.
Ok, so it’s a great idea to get your Christmas content out pretty early. But how?
You definitely want to get the tone right so you’re not applying pressure to your potential customers, and you don’t turn them off by being overtly salesy. Talking about your products as Christmas gifts can feel intense in July but there are low- key, impactful ways to do it.
In July, on Instagram/ TikTok/ social media, share behind-the-scenes content:
- How you’re choosing or designing your products
- How you’re choosing your packaging
- How you make your products/ an insight into your process
- Christmas photoshoots behind the scenes clips
- Polls to ask which product your customer prefers
- Do sneak peaks and teasers of products
In July, in your newsletter:
- Get some little messages right at the end of the email but move the message higher and higher in the message as the months go by, until it’s the subject line.
- Share stock updates, last order dates, and terms and conditions updates for returns and refunds around the Christmas period.
- Include a little “What I’ve been up to this week” paragraph, or a “coming up next week” paragraph where you mention what you’re getting ready for Christmas.
- Offer some discounts or early bird deals for your email subscribers and consider some bundles or deals to boost sales early. Things like: “Use STOCKINGFILLER15 for 15% off”, or “Enter SANTASCOMING to get free shipping!”.
Tip one: look at the supermarkets! Have you noticed that as soon as the summer school holidays start, there are “back to school” campaigns? Valentine’s Day chocolates and wine appear next to supermarket doors in early January. Mini Eggs and Cadbury’s Creme Eggs appear on shelves every year, wait for it… on New Year’s Day. I popped into Hobbycraft for some yarn on the 2nd of July this year and the first thing I saw as I walked in the door was a cardboard stand full of little plush Hallowe’en pumpkins. If you’re not sure what you should be posting about and when, use the supermarkets as a guide.
Christmas in July: Google needs time to index your website content
Aside from emails and social media, your website can be Christmasified early too.
When you make changes to your website, add copy, add pages, or add blogs, it takes Google a little while to take notice. So, getting these things done early in the year is not only important for your potential customer, but for Google too. Give Google time to index it so you have the answers ready and waiting when your customer Googles “Christmas gift for: mum/ dad/ husband/ wife/ boss/ child/ wine lover/ cat lover/ Taylor Swift Fan…”
Things to get done early on your website for Christmas in July:
- Write and schedule blogs about Christmas
- Collaborate with other small business owners or local businesses to create gift guide blogs
- Start organising your products into “gifts for…” lists
- Get some short, snappy copy into a couple of banners about deals, or restocking certain products
- Brush up your product descriptions and include lines such as “…would make a wonderful Christmas gift for…” or “treat your [person] this Christmas with…” or “lovely little stocking fillers”, or “perfect to wrap up and pop under the tree this Christmas”.
- When you know this information, literally as soon as possible, put a banner up with information of the last day products can be ordered from you, and last postal dates for Christmas.
Tip two: I’m sure you’re already following Aime at Studio Cotton, but she posts super helpful website advice for small business owners. Regularly check a big business which sell similar products to you and see what how their website changes as it gets closer to Christmas. For example, there’s nothing about Christmas on Oliver Bonas’s home page right now (that would be weird, it’s still July) but if you search on their website for the word “Christmas” loads of products come up. Some are overtly Christmassy, such as tree decorations or stockings, but lots are products which would make excellent Christmas gifts.
Christmas in July: Get your products in front of a wide audience
Ok, hands up, this is the miscellaneous section. This is a bunch of Christmas related stuff you can do in July and onwards which is small, pretty easy, but each thing doesn’t quite get its own paragraph in the blog.
- Gift guides and PR
If you’re interested in getting your products in the press, there are loads of gift guides which come out from October onwards. To get featured in the gift guides, it’s absolutely key to start early. You can work with a PR, but if you don’t have the budget, you can do it on your own. This blog from Big Little London agency is packed will of advice for getting into gift guides will in time for Christmas. - Local business who blog
Do a collab! Contact local small businesses who blog regularly and can write well to do a Christmas Q&A with you, or to do a mini- Christmas gift- guide of local businesses, or guest blog for each other about a Christmass-y topic, like describing your most memorable, most disastrous, and most expensive Christmas gifts. Set this up in July, get it written and up on each other’s websites, ASAP, Share it on social media and pop it in your newsletter too! - Influencers
Working with an influencer can be really fantastic for boosting your sales, but there are a few things to consider. Finding the right influencer, being clear on your goals for the campaign, and agreeing a budget can all take a good bit of communication and planning. So, getting started in July is a good idea. Your chosen influencer will need time to use your products, make content, and post it well in time for their audience to make a purchase with you. Indeed has a great guide to working with influencers right here.
- Festive markets and local events
If you’re thinking about heading off to a local market or event, you’ll be too late in November. These events get booked up in advance, because the organisers have a huge amount to… well, organises. Bristol Pop Up Shop is a Christmas staple and the application deadline is July 31st. St Nick’s Market expands for Christmas and applications open on the 1st of August. Bath Christmas Market has already closed their applications for this year! So, getting your Christmas shiz together in the middle of summer is a really good idea.
Tip three: The great thing about all these little miscellaneous goodies in this final section is you can post about them online as you’re doing them, and it counts as behind the scenes content too. Join some small business communities such as Wild, and Studio Cotton Clubhouse to connect with other product- based business owners to see which festive events they’d recommend.
There you go, my product- based- business- pal! Loads of tips to kick- off Christmas in July, and lots of reasons why Christmas in July is a thing.
I’m only an email away if you need some help with those Christmassy product descriptions, SEO blogs, and website copy.
